Saudi Aramco Experience – Islanding

Scheme for Manifa Central Processing Facility

Kahtan Mustafa
Saudi Aramco

Kamal Garg and Rajkumar Swaminathan

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.

Presented at the
PCIC Europe Conference
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
June 3–5, 2014
 SAUDI ARAMCO EXPERIENCE – ISLANDING SCHEME FOR MANIFA
CENTRAL PROCESSING FACILITY
Copyright Material PCIC Europe
Kahtan Mustafa Kamal Garg
Saudi Aramco Schweitzer Engineering
P.O. Box 5330 Laboratories, Inc.
Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia 031311 2350 NE Hopkins Court
Pullman, WA 99163 USA
Abstract—Manifa Central Processing Facility (CPF), the
fifth largest oil field in the world, is connected by
25 manmade islands and 20 kilometers of causeways. The
current production capacity of heavy crude oil at the CPF is
500,000 barrels per day (bpd). The full production capacity
of the plant is 900,000 bpd, which the facility will meet in
2014. The power plant generation includes two combustion
gas turbine (CGT) generators and two heat recovery steam
generators (HRSGs) providing steam to two steam turbine
generators (STGs), with a total generation capacity of
about 500 MW.
Two tie lines at 115 kV connect the Manifa CPF to the
external utility system. A power management system
controls the Manifa CPF frequency once the Manifa CPF
islands from the external grid. Some of the severe external
disturbances require Manifa islanding operation in less
than 15 cycles to maintain system stability. This very
critical CPF requires the ability to quickly identify an
islanding condition correctly. This paper discusses the
islanding scheme design details for local and remote
signals. For significant power exchange with an external
grid, local measurement-based islanding can correctly and
quickly identify the islanding condition.
Index Terms—closed-loop testing, decoupling, DFDT,
fast DFDT, islanding, stability, synchrophasors, wide-area
monitoring.
I. INTRODUCTION
Because of crucial safety consequences related to the
uncontrolled shutdown of Manifa Central Processing
Facility (CPF), a gas and crude oil facility, the critical load
is fed by a redundant power scheme. The Manifa CPF
uses a dual 115 kV feed from the national grid owned by
Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) as well as two
combustion gas turbine (CGT) generators that are 154 MW
each and two steam turbine generators (STGs) that are
70 MW and 40 MW. Either the feeders or the generators
are capable of supplying the entire process electrical load
(see Fig. 1 in the next section). The entire Manifa CPF
relies on the power generated by these four generators.
Excess power is exported to the SEC national grid. The
electrical system is thus designed so that the loss of either
the generators or the SEC network is acceptable, but a
loss of both sources shuts down the entire Manifa CPF.
1
Rajkumar Swaminathan
Schweitzer Engineering
Laboratories, Inc.
2350 NE Hopkins Court
Pullman, WA 99163 USA
Losing a CGT generator means also losing steam from a
heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) and thus the
related STG. Stable operation of the CGTs is therefore
fundamental in supplying power to the site when it is in an
island mode.
The CGT generators are sensitive to disturbances in the
national grid. To ensure the reliability of the Manifa CPF
network, an automatic decoupling system (ADS) was
installed that can cater to the ever-increasing system
disturbances from the rapid expansion of SEC.
The new ADS decouples (or islands) the Manifa CPF
from SEC during external system disturbances. This is the
first decoupling scheme introduced in a Saudi Aramco
plant system. The system uses several protection elements
to achieve this goal. This paper explains each of these
elements and devices. The new state-of-the-art ADS also
includes several engineering diagnostic features that
enable both operation and maintenance personnel to
quickly diagnose and understand an islanding event.
II. SYSTEM DESIGN
Fig. 1 shows a one-line diagram of the Manifa system
connected to the external grid. SEC and two lines at
115 kV are connected to the Manifa CPF. For
simplification, SEC is shown as a radial bus, but in reality, it
is a breaker-and-a-half protection scheme at the SEC
380 kV end. At the Manifa end, two decoupling devices,
Relay A and Relay B, are installed for the islanding
scheme. Current transformers (CTs) and potential
transformers (PTs) are tapped from the existing line
protection relays. Relay A works as islanding for Line A
and Relay B for Line B. Both relays are connected to the
Global Positioning System (GPS) clock signal because
many protection elements such as rate of change of
frequency (DFDT) and fast DFDT use synchrophasor
quantities. The present scheme does not include wide-area
monitoring and control. However, the present scheme is
scalable and has already been vetted for a wide-area
monitoring and control scheme using synchrophasors [1].
Front-panel monitoring is also available for system
diagnostics and protection element operation. All the
critical information is logged in the local relays and at the
central location for monitoring. Fail-safe contacts from
decoupling devices Relay A and Relay B are wired for
remote monitoring and failure indication.
 SEC Grid

380 kV
Simplified presentation
CB6 CB7 of a breaker-and-a-half
protection scheme
Open
380 kV/ 380 kV/
Closed 115 kV 115 kV

PT Wiring
CT Wiring
CB5
CB3 CB4

Manifa
115 kV/120 V 115 kV/120 V
Line 1 Line 2
A601 A602
STG CGT Protection Protection CGT STG
1 1 Panel 2 CT1-2 CT1-2 Panel 2 2 2
Existing 1500/1 1500/1 Existing

Protection Protection
Panel 1 CT1-1 CT1-1 Panel 1
A617 A618 Existing 1500/1 1500/1 Existing A619 A629

A603
115 kV
A605 A606

A604

IW VY Islanding
CT Connection VZ CT Connection
Scheme
Wired in Series Relay A IX Wired in Series
IRIG

GPS Clock
VZ
VY
IX Relay B IW
IRIG

Fig. 1. Manifa System One-Line Diagram

III. SYNCHROPHASORS A phasor is a voltage or current of the ac system and

can be represented in a steady state by perfect sinusoidal
A. Synchrophasor Message Format functions. Fig. 2 shows an example of a sinusoidal voltage
function called v(t), with a period of T seconds.
Synchrophasors are widely used today to monitor the
state of the power system [2] [3] [4]. In the near future, it is
v(wt)
anticipated that synchrophasors will be used for various
control applications if wide-area synchronized system
information is available. IEEE C37.118-2005 and A A
IEEE C37.118-2011 [5] define synchronized phasor 2
measurements as well as the message format for t
0
communicating these data in a real-time system. While
most people think of these standards with regard to
sending time-coherent voltage and current phasors,
IEEE C37.118 messages can be used to provide much
Reference
more information (such as additional analog data, digital
status information, and control signals) as part of the Fig. 2. Sinusoidal Voltage Time Waveform and
synchrophasor packet. Phasor Presentation

2
B. Wide-Area Monitoring and Applications protection is available on Manifa-SEC 115 kV tie lines,
Saudi Aramco decided to implement additional detection
Synchronized measurements of voltage phasors, elements for external system disturbances and isolate the
current phasors, and frequency are key to power system plant from the external grid. From various stability studies,
analysis. The Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) reference it was determined that during certain critical operating
and the synchronized voltage signal provide a snapshot scenarios, systems should island in less than 15 cycles.
across the power system, as illustrated in Fig. 3. The plots in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 show an external three-phase
fault and an example where STG 1 is unstable for a
0.28-second three-phase fault but stable for a 0.27-second
external three-phase fault. For the worst operating
conditions, critical time was verified using closed-loop
testing. The results of this study were comparable to
t1, VR1 t1, VR4 previous stability studies done for this plant. This
comparison provided additional validation of the system
t1, VR3 model for this design. The real-time digital system model
was also verified for various load flow and short-circuit
conditions. The dynamics of local generators and
t1, VR2 synchronous motors were verified using field data and
in-service testing. In-service testing verified that dynamic
system parameters can be adjusted for further
Fig. 3. Wide-Area Synchronized System
improvement of system operation.
Some synchrophasor applications include the following:
 State measurement
 Real-time monitoring (V, I, P, Q, and f)
 Power system model validation
 Situational awareness
 System restoration
 Stability analysis
 Event analysis
 Wide-area monitoring and control
Traditional information management systems and
®
protocols (e.g., DNP3, Modbus , and OPC) that are used
to communicate information back to a central location only
send magnitude measurements. These systems update
information every few seconds to every few minutes.
Additionally, the data are not time-coherent or
time-stamped, making it difficult to accurately assess
system conditions. Using synchronized measurements
helps overcome these shortcomings and provides many Fig. 4. Generator Speed Plot of 0.28-Second Three-Phase Fault
additional benefits. One possible application is to use 390
phasor measurement unit (PMU) synchrophasor
measurements for dynamic model verification. Many STG 1
utilities archive years of PMU data, and such gathered 385

information can be applied for wide-area system dynamic CGT 1, CGT 2

response validation and analysis. For any switching 380

operation, a PMU-measured system response can be
validated against the dynamic system model used by a
STG 2
planning department. PMUs can also be applied to 375
evaluate the generator control actions and system dynamic
response. This helps validate the dynamic models of
370
exciters and governors for various system disturbances.
For this application, wide-area monitoring and control
application of synchrophasors can be applied to improve 365
the decoupling scheme design. 0 2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15
Time (seconds)
IV. PROTECTION SCHEME DESIGN AND VALIDATION
Fig. 5. Generator Speed Plot of 0.27-Second Three-Phase Fault
Closed-loop digital simulations (i.e., real-time digital Because of the criticality of this decoupling scheme,
simulation, model validation, factory acceptance testing, multiple detection methods are enabled. Various detection
and design validation) established the design parameters elements operate in parallel, and the sensitivity of these
for this critical scheme. As part of factory acceptance elements was verified for various system operating
testing, stability analysis determined the minimum time conditions. Line protection provides primary protection and
required for the decoupling scheme to operate and isolate the decoupling system is designed to operate as secondary
for external faults [6] [7]. Even though dual-redundant line protection, with intentional time delay based upon system

3
critical clearing time. Detection methods are programmed UF and OF elements are selected to coordinate with the
for external system disturbances only. Detection elements generator protection at 59.5 Hz and 60.5 Hz, respectively,
are limited to the SEC 115 kV bus and do not reach with a 12-cycle delay. Additional UF and OF alarm
beyond the 115/380 kV SEC transformer. The following elements are enabled with a 30-cycle (0.5-second) delay.
fault detection elements are enabled for these conditions UV and OV elements are selected based on the system
via the decoupling system: operating conditions, with a 12-cycle delay. In this
 Phase and ground distance decoupling scheme, DFDT is selected at 2.5 Hz per
 Directional phase definite-time overcurrent second with a 10-cycle delay [9]. Fast DFDT of 7.5 Hz per
 Directional negative-sequence definite-time second with –7.5 percent slope is selected. An additional
overcurrent (67Q1T) fast DFDT alarm element of 5 Hz per second with
 Directional residual ground definite-time –5 percent slope was also proposed and is under
overcurrent (67G1T) observation. Fig. 6 shows the fast DFDT protection
The set point selection of these elements was based on operating set points and operating region. This protection
the Saudi Aramco system operation philosophy, system was found to be sensitive for the weak system operating
stability requirements, and a detailed study for various conditions and operates correctly and faster than DFDT. As
system operating conditions. The primary function of these shown in Fig. 6, this scheme adjusts the DFDT set point
elements is to detect external system disturbances and based on the deviation of frequency from the nominal
faults and isolate the Manifa CPF to prevent a system frequency.
blackout. As discussed previously, the purpose of this
+7.5 Hz Per
scheme is not to act as primary protection; therefore, Second
adequate detection delays are programmed.
Slope = –7.5
Phase overcurrent is selected above the maximum flow DFDT
on the tie line connecting Manifa to SEC. Ground and Hz Per Second
negative-sequence overcurrent are selected at 25 percent
of the phase overcurrent pickup. In addition, phase and
ground distance elements are enabled. All of these
elements are enabled in the forward direction and Operation
supervised to ensure they do not reach beyond the next Zone
substation. Voltage elements were selected based on +0.2 Hz Per Second
Saudi Aramco experience with normal operating voltage
conditions.
–1.0 Hz –0.1 Hz +0.1 Hz +1.0 Hz
A. Local Decoupling Protection Scheme –0.2 Hz Per
(Frequency – F nom) Hz
Second
The present decoupling scheme relies on local Operation
measurements only because remote-end system Zone
information or breaker status is not available. Decoupling
schemes have been designed successfully based on local
measurements only.
The following elements are enabled for this scheme Slope = –7.5
based on local measurement [8] [9]:
 DFDT
 Fast DFDT (81RF) –7.5 Hz Per
Second
 Underfrequency (UF) and overfrequency (OF)
 Undervoltage (UV) and overvoltage (OV) Fig. 6. Fast DFDT Logic

4
 Fig. 7. Synchrophasor-Based Visualization (Phase Angle)

B. Synchrophasor-Based Decoupling Protection water supply 115 kV substation. Abu Hydriyah water supply
is a load substation and is connected to an SEC 380 kV
It was observed that the local-based protection will not grid. Synchrophasor communication between the two
operate correctly for the system conditions when the load substations at 60 messages per second is possible
flow on the tie lines between the two systems is low and because direct communication between these two Saudi
the remote-end breaker opens. During this system Aramco substations already exists. Abu Hydriyah water
condition, because the tie line from Manifa CPF to SEC is supply is approximately 90 kilometers and two buses from
floating (no load flow on the tie lines), the local operating the Manifa substation. Abu Hydriyah water supply provides
quantities such as voltage, frequency, DFDT, and fast external grid voltage and angle reference to the Manifa
DFDT will not see adequate change to operate. For this CPF substation via the synchrophasor logic controller at
system operating condition, the remote substation the Manifa end and collects synchrophasor quantities from
information and breaker status are required in order to both local and remote substations.
correctly determine the islanding condition. As shown in
Fig. 7, it was verified that as soon as the remote-end
Manifa Abu Hydriyah Abu Hydriyah
breaker opens, the external system (CB3 SEC supply Water Supply
380/115 kV 380/115 kV
breaker) and local Manifa system (Relay) start slipping as Substation Substation 115 kV
they are islanded. The two systems can have a small slip, Substation
but the angle between the two systems increases. The Remote PMU
faster the two systems slip, the easier it is to detect the
system islanding condition. Plot B in Fig. 7 shows the angle 2 • 500 MVA 2 • 500 MVA Remote PMU
380/115 kV 380/115 kV
difference between the two systems as a function of time Transformers Transformers Saudi
for the very low load flow system condition between the Aramco
Manifa and SEC systems. During a normal operating
115 kV
condition, there is a difference of 2.38 degrees in the two Lines
380 kV Lines 115 kV Line
systems. CB3 opening in Plot C signifies the opening of the (28 km) (46 km)
(10.66 km)
remote-end breaker. Plot B shows that the angle between
Manifa
the two systems increases slowly to 8.25 degrees in almost 115 kV
4 seconds. Plot A shows the frequency of the external and Substation
Communications Link
Manifa systems. Plot D shows the same angle difference Local PMU
information on a per-phase basis. Design and logic
verification using wide-area synchrophasors improves this Local PMU

design [9]. Controller

Fig. 8 shows the proposed system configuration for the Saudi
synchrophasor-based decoupling scheme. The Saudi Aramco
Aramco Manifa substation has dedicated fiber
communication in service with the remote Abu Hydriyah Fig. 8. Future Wide-Area Synchrophasor Solution

5
 V. IN-SERVICE TEST AND RESULTS Fig. 11 documents the results from the closed-loop
testing using real-time digital simulation and field testing.
The Manifa CPF system was tested for in-service The response curves of the generator were subsequently
operation of the islanding scheme. For this test, one unit at further tuned to improve the governor response curve.
Manifa CPF was operating at 152 MW with a local load of Additional field data and response monitoring can help in
15 MW and 130 MW of export. When the remote-end further improving the real-time system model of Manifa.
breaker was opened, the scheme operated at fast DFDT
and islanded the Manifa system from the external system
conditions. This test validated the islanding scheme
operation during factory closed-loop testing.
The generation unit runback was also successful, as
shown in Fig. 9. The CGT 1 unit was ramped back from
150 MW to 20 MW. The load on the line was approximately

Frequency (Hz)
655 A when the remote-end breaker opened. The 655 A of
load corresponds to P = 1.7232 • (0.655 kA) • (115 kV) =
~130 MW of line flow. Local generation is 152 MW, and
local load is 15 MW. The system was stable after this
operation.

Fig. 11. Islanding CGT 1 Generator Runback Comparison

Fig. 12 shows that the CGT 1 speed reached a high of

3,838 rpm and low of 3,535 rpm during this speed
in-service test on July 3, 2013. This corresponds to 63.9 Hz
at high frequency and 58.9 Hz at low frequency.

Fig. 9. Generator Runback During CGT 1 Islanding Test

The event analysis, as shown in Fig. 10, indicates that

during the in-service test on July 3, 2013, fast DFDT
operated via PSV08. After the delay of 5 cycles, the fast
DFDT protection trip asserted via PCT11Q. OUT201 and
OUT202 tripped Trip Coils 1 and 2 of the breaker A601.
The same test was also performed on the second line on
August 19, 2013, and results matched the factory test. This
in-service test validated the design and operation of the
overall scheme and trip assert.

0.083 seconds Fig. 12. CGT 1 Runback Speed Trend

5 cycles
Fig. 13 shows the system condition before and after the
PSV08 = Fast DFDT Pickup
Fast DFDT PSV08
picks up and trips
remote-end breaker opened. During normal system
PCT11Q = Fast DFDT Trip
CBA601 = Breaker Opened
after 5 cycles per
logic design
operation, two 115 kV buses are not connected at the
Manifa end. Line 1 exports power to SEC, and CGT 1 is in
service with a generation of 152 MW and 15 MW of local
load. Line 2 imports 60 MW from the utility and maintains
the local load.
Fig. 14 shows the A613 and A614 breakers opening at
the remote utility SEC end and fast DFDT operation at the
Manifa end. Fast DFDT detection on Line 1 opens breaker
A601 at the Manifa end. The islanding only operates
breaker A601 as designed (there is no impact on Line 2),
Fig. 10. Fast DFDT Operation for Remote-End Breaker Open and the 60 MW load still continues to be fed from a remote
SEC substation on Line 2.

6
 A613 SEC A607

A614 A608

A615 A609

380 kV/ 380 kV/

115 kV 602 115 kV

603 601

Manifa
152 MW

STG CGT CGT STG

1 1 2 2
Line 1 Line 2
A601 A602

A617 A618 A619 A629

A603
115 kV
A606
A605

Load 2 A604 Load 1

15 MW 60 MW

Fig. 13. System Configuration Before Remote-End Trip

A613 SEC A607

A614 A608

A615 A609

380 kV/ 380 kV/

115 kV 602 115 kV

603 601

Manifa
152 MW

STG CGT CGT STG

Line 1 Line 2
1 1 2 2
A601 A602

Fast
DFDT Trip
A617 A618 A619 A629

A603
115 kV
A606
A605

Load 2 A604 Load 1

15 MW 60 MW

Fig. 14. Fast DFDT In-Service Operation

7
 VI. CONCLUSION VIII. VITAE

Manifa CPF is the fifth largest oil field in the world. Kahtan Mustafa is Lead Project Engineer on the Project
Reliable power system operation is very critical for various Management Team at Saudi Aramco. He received his BS
system operating conditions. Correct operation of a local or in 1986 from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston,
wide-area islanding scheme can help improve the system Massachusetts. Kahtan worked for New England Electrical
operation and reliability. The present scheme, designed System for 9 years and Bechtel Power Cooperation for
based on local quantities, can detect and operate for 15 years before joining Saudi Aramco in 2010. He has
various system operating conditions. A wide-area scheme experience in transmission and distribution systems, power
is required for certain operating system conditions (i.e., low plant design, and commissioning and startup. Kahtan has
load flow on the intertie [9]). Real-time digital simulation, 27 years of diversified experience with electrical power
model validation, closed-loop testing, and on-site design systems, particularly in power plant electrical systems. He
verification help validate the design. The installed scheme can be reached at kahtan.mustafa@aramco.com.
is scalable and can be easily upgraded for wide-area
monitoring and control.
Kamal Garg is a protection supervisor in the engineering
VII. REFERENCES services division of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories,
Inc (SEL). He received his MSEE from Florida
[1] B. Cook and K. Garg, “Designing a Special Protection International, Miami, and IIT, Roorkee, India, and BSEE
System to Mitigate High Interconnection Loading from KNIT, India. Kamal worked for POWERGRID India for
Under Extreme Conditions – A Scalable Approach,” 7 years and B&V for 5 years at various positions before
proceedings of the 40th Annual Western Protective joining SEL in 2006. Kamal has experience in protection
Relay Conference, Spokane, WA, October 2013. system design, system planning, substation design,
[2] E. O. Schweitzer, III, D. Whitehead, A. Guzmán, operation, remedial action schemes, synchrophasors,
Y. Gong, and M. Donolo, “Advanced Real-Time testing, and maintenance. Kamal is a licensed professional
Synchrophasor Applications,” proceedings of the 35th engineer in six states in the United States. He can be
Annual Western Protective Relay Conference, reached at kamal_garg@selinc.com.
Spokane, WA, October 2008.
[3] E. Martínez, N. Juárez, A. Guzmán, G. Zweigle, and Rajkumar Swaminathan is a protection engineering
J. León, “Using Synchronized Phasor Angle manager in the sales and customer service division of
Difference for Wide-Area Protection and Control,” Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. (SEL). He
proceedings of the 33rd Annual Western Protective received his bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronics
Relay Conference, Spokane, WA, October 2006. engineering from the University of Madras, India, in 1997.
Rajkumar has over 15 years of experience in power system
[4] L. Weingarth, S. Manson, S. Shah, and K. Garg,
protection application, design, and testing and
“Power Management Systems for Offshore Vessels,”
commissioning. He worked as a commissioning engineer at
proceedings of the Dynamic Positioning Conference,
M/S Voltech Engineers in India and as a senior technical
Houston, TX, October 2009.
support engineer at Schneider Electric in Saudi Arabia
[5] IEEE C37.118.1-2011, IEEE Standard for before joining SEL Bahrain. He can be reached at
Synchrophasor Measurements for Power Systems. swaminathan_rajkumar@selinc.com.
[6] A. Jain and K. Garg, “System Planning and
Protection Engineering – An Overview,” proceedings
of the 2009 International Conference on Power
Systems, Kharagpur, India, December 2009.
[7] S. Shah and K. Garg, “DP Power Plant Open Bus
Redundancy With Reliable Closed Bus Operation,”
proceedings of the Dynamic Positioning Conference,
Houston, TX, October 2010.
[8] A. Al-Mulla, K. Garg, S. Manson, and A. El-Hamaky,
“Case Study: A Dual-Primary Redundant Automatic
Decoupling System for a Critical Petrochemical
Process,” proceedings of the 2009 PCIC Europe
Technical Conference, Barcelona, Spain, May 2009.
[9] J. Mulhausen, J. Schaefer, M. Mynam, A. Guzmán,
and M. Donolo, “Anti-Islanding Today, Successful
Islanding in the Future,” proceedings of the 63rd
Annual Conference for Protective Relay Engineers,
College Station, TX, March 2010.

Previously presented at the 2014 PCIC Europe Conference,

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, June 2014.
© 2014 PCIC-Europe – All rights reserved.
20140227 • TP6635